A casual friend has just told me she's standing as a Reform candidate

Leaving aside the fact that you can't blame every single party member or candidate for what one particular person said, why is that racist? No I'm not advocating for using the boats as target practice, and I think to say that is abhorrent. But it's not racist.

I would never vote Reform. That doesn’t make me a wonderful person.

How did this ever happen

Yes saying boats should be used for target practice and that migrants should be left to drown - Ben Habid deputy leader, Andrew Parker Reform Activist..is all perfectly normal and not racist in anyway....

Just concerned citizens worried about migration.....

Always amazes me that RN/Le Pen is referred to as a "Far Right Party" but Reform and the Tories are not....

Their manifesto's are to the 'right of le Pens RN in pretty much every measure.

Because for some people anyone who has any issue with unchecked immigration is automatically a racist. Stupid, I know.

I have also voted for them in the past but no more, their total disregard for vulnerable women has sickened me.

I'm asking these questions because I guess I'm a bit ignorant about it and I'm interested in learning more.

What does your husband being black have to do with anything? What are the connections of Reform to racism? I know they're heavily across wanting to limit immigration but specifically what examples have occurred to indicate they're racist?

If it was me I wouldn’t respond to her message at all. Silence will say it all.

Ugh
Found two articles straight away .
Yes your right ,I voted for them ,why are they meddling in trans issues,they should stick to increasing veganism.
There's literally no decent party to vote for any more

Where is the UK headed if something isn't done?

I know what my response would be!

Sleep with dogs, align yourself with cunts, get fleas, get judged accordingly!

She sounds fantastic, she can see through the other parties and realises the way the uk is headed if something isn't done for her and her children especially.

Well done that lady.

Same as all political parties then

Where did you hear this .
Are you completely sure this happened
Why would they do that .

Isn't it the law that said so?

I can never understand attitudes like this.
So you are cool with hanging out with racists then?

There's a difference between someone being a Reform voter and a Reform candidate. Many Reform voters do support the party views, but for quite a few it's basically a vote for 'none of the above'; the equivalent of spoiling their ballot paper.

Being a candidate involves more commitment to the party ideology. No, not all Reform politicians are racists, but most have some sort of dodgy views. Some are non-racist xenophobes (i.e. they hate white foreigners as much as non-white foreigners); some are homophobes; some are Christian-Righties; some are sexists (our local Reform candidate for MP went on about how 'women are taught by feminism that men and women can behave in the same way and I’m sorry but it ain’t true.'); some are anti-vaxxers; some want to sell off the NHS; etc.

I'd ignore it and give her a wide berth at events where she'll be in attendance.

OP, did she contact you personally, or was it a message to all her friends/acquaintances?

If it was a personal message just to you, I suspect it's because she thinks of you as her 'friend with the black husband' and thinks you would be unimpressed that's she a Reform candidate, so doesn't want you to hear in front of other friends, to avoid any 'unpleasantness' of being called out for standing for a populist far right party.

I think you should reply and tell her you don't agree with the right wing populism of Reform, you think Brexit was a disaster and that you're very surprised that she supports Farage.

I don't understand people who claim not to care about their friends politics, a persons politics are a distalation of how they view other people and the world. I would never be friends with someone who was a Trump supporter, I would see them as totally lacking in compassion, greedy and anti-choice.

Is this for local elections ? Has she researched your local demographics and decided that Reform are best placed to get her elected in your area ?

Wtf is you being married to a black man got to do with anything?

unless of course he arrived on a dingy illegally?

or are you one of those thoroughly ignorant people who think reform voters are all racist and hate black people?

I would just say 'Thank you for letting me know'. If it's a matter of conscience to you, you could add 'I'm afraid I won't be voting for you, as I am strongly opposed to the Reform party's views.'

I think, if it was me, I’d start to distance myself from this friend. You’ve suddenly been made to see the reality of her views and her family’s views and approach to life. She isn’t just a friend with differing political opinions to you, she’s actually investing her time and energy into being a Reform candidate and therefore promoting Reform’s values and disingenuous, divisive and dangerous (IMO, of course) take on the world. Her fundamental values are not your values. If she was my casual friend (and there’s probably a reason that you’ve never become closer friends) I think I’d have to tell her that I was very disappointed to hear that she’s chosen to stand for Reform!

Unless you are in Scotland where the Green party
tried to deny women who have been raped the right to a female medical examiner and also tried to remove funding from a Women's Domestic Violence Refuge because it won't accept men as clients or employees , as a male presence in the refugee has been found to be traumatising for their clients.

Um, what insults have I hurled? None.

I was agreeing with what you said! Here is a reminder: